Author: Ike Oriaku

LORD I pray that You give me the courage not to be overwhelmed by the size of my weaknesses. Do not withhold from me the strength to help me steer away from thoughts that makes me moody because of my shortcomings.
MayIreceivedthegracetofocusonwhoYouare – theAll–sufficientGod, andthepeacethatcomesfrombeingrestfulinYouasmyUpholder

You alone O God is my Salvation, my Rock and my Fortress. In You the Almighty I will never be shaken because I have put my trust in You.

Your faithfulness is as a shield to me, and IhavemadeYourwordthemeditationofmyheartandithasturnedouttobeacompanionthatgivesmeboldness

You have said to me again and again: FearnotforIamwithyou,
Benotdismayed, forIamyourGod.
Iwillstrengthenyou.
Yes, Iwillhelpyou,
IwillupholdyouwithMyrighteousrighthand.(Isaiah41:10)

Most effectively, the strength and power of Christ rests upon me in my weaknesses, “ThereforeItakepleasureininfirmities, inreproaches, inneeds, inpersecutions, indistresses, forChrist‘ssake. ForwhenIamweak, thenIamstrong.” 2Cor12:10

Like this:

We have seen previously that FAITHiscentraltoChristianity. ThereisnorealChristianwithoutfaithbecauseGodgiveseverybelieverameasureoffaithasagift.(Rom. 12:3) AslongasoneisstillaChristianheorsheremainsapersonoffaith; because “noonecansaythatJesusisLordexceptbytheHolySpirit.” 1Cor12:3b

Soweallhavefaith. EverybelieverisafaithChristian! More so the measure of faith we have, even as small as a grain of mustard seed can move mountains “andnothingshallbeimpossibleforyou” Matt17:20
Why though are we not moving mountains with our faith? Whydowestillencounterimpossibilities? JesussaidthereasonissimplyDOUBT & UNBELIEVE. Anunbelievingbeliever? Whenfaithseemstobefeeble, unproductiveandnotworking, theproblemisnottheabsenceoffaith. Itisratherthepresenceofdoubt.

We have had cases of great men of God in the Bible that God used mightily but who still had a moment of doubt while still in active Service and they all suffered setbacks as a result. JohntheBaptistandSimonPeterwillbeverygoodexamples. JohntheBaptistwasJesus‘ cousinandHisforerunner. He not only knew Jesus from the house, he was atopprophetwhoGodbestowedthenoblejobtopreparethewayforthebeginningofChrist‘sministryandtoannounceHispresence. He then said “IhaveseenandtestifiedthatthisistheSonofGod” John1:34
Inamomentofaflickeroffaith, doubttookthebetterofJohntheBaptistandhesaidtoChrist “AreyouthecomingOneordowelookforanother?” Luke7:20. Also in Matt14:25–31 Peter was so full of faith that he stepped out of a boat and walked on water with Christ but whenhehaddoubt, hebegantosinkandJesussaidtohim “Oyouoflittlefaith, whydidyoudoubt?” Matt14:31

Though we may be strong Christians, weallhavelevelsofdoubtthatcontentsagainstourfaith. It may not be very easy for faith to block out doubt completely no matter how hard we try, but our faithcanstillthriveenoughinthepresenceofdoubt for us to become “morethanconquerorsthroughHimwholovedus” Rom8:37.

Weneedtofeedourfaithandexerciseitregularlytomakeitgrowbigandbecomestrong. Thatissamewaytostarveourdoubttomakeitweak. Whenwetalkaboutfaithasbig, strongorgreat, itisallinitsstrengthratherthanitsquantum. The strength in faith is achieved when we regularly and properly feed that measure we have received as a gift with the word of God(Rom10:17). Weshouldalsoputourfaithtoworkandexerciseitregularlyforstrengthandcapacity. “Faithwithoutworksisdead” James2:14

The reason we have doubt is because wesometimesallowourfeelingstostandinthewaythatleadstodoubt rather than trust God fully and wholeheartedly in the finished work of Christ. EverydoubtwemayhaveaboutourrelationshipwithGodandHisfaithfulnessareall problemsofourfeelings. Such feelings regarding our salvation and the faithfulness of God can be a big distraction to faith growth. We should believe God for who He is “ForlamtheLORD, Idonotchange” Malachi3:6a. WhenwebelieveGodandliveinobediencetoHisword, itwillinturnproduceinusthefaithweneedtowalkandworkwith(John15:4–15)

The Bible tells us to “fightthegoodfightofthefaith” 1Tim6:12. We need to always lookbeyondthemomentintimesoftrialsanddifficultiesandthentryandfocusontheultimateoutcomesuchasGodhaspromisedus. It will surely bring about a faith boost. After all the Bible says that we should all know that Goduseseverysituation( includingchallenges) toworktogetherforthegoodofthosewholoveHim(Rom8:28).

He is faithful who says “Iwillnotleaveyounorforsakeyou.” Therefore let us open up our heats to Him in an “unqualifiedassuranceandabsoluteconviction” and put a complete trust and confidence in the Lord holding “fasttheconfessionofourhopewithoutwavering, forHewhopromisedisfaithful.” Heb10:23(ESV)
Amen!
– Ike

ThewordofGodisSpirit. Itisalive, quickandpowerful. ItcontainsGod‘ssupernaturalcreativepower.(John1:1–3). Jesus Himself was “thewordmadeflesh“. It pleases God to have Christ as the Beginning of all things and above all others and has put in Him the full nature of Himself.

JesusChristisalifegiver. EverywordHespoketousintheGospelareSpirit–wordandtheygivelife.
There are letters of the word and also the Spirit of the Word. When we study the Scripturesas so often as possible and also commit them to memory, a time will come when we will be so filled up and bubbly, and at that point we can easily speak and pray with the word gracefully. TheSpiritofGodidentifieswiththespiritofthewordtogiveiteffectandmomentumwhichisthepowerthataffectsourcircumstancespositively.

The mind of God and His will for His children are found in His word. WhenHiswordtakesresidenceinourhearts, it‘sspiritwillhelptotransformandinfluencethewaywepraytoaskaccordingtoHiswill. That is effective and fervent prayers that the Bible says to be purposeful and advantageous.(James5:16b). AneffectiveprayerrequiresprayingaccordingtoGod‘swill. PrayinginHiswillshouldgiveyouboldnessbecauseweknowthatHehearsusandthatourrequestwillbemet.

The earnest expectations of the righteous shall not be cutoff and so “theeyesoftheLordareontherighteousandHisearsareattentivetotheircry.” Psalm34:17
If we believe what the word of God says, we also need to declare it and apply its truth in our lives. WhenwebelieveandaskGodinfaith, Hispromiseswillbepassedontousfromthespiritualtothenatural. For this to happen, we need to search out the portions of the Bible that contains our needs and apply its principles because GodhasalreadymadeprovisionsforallourneedsinHisword.

ThewordofGodisfinal. Whatitsaystodomustsurelybefulfilled. “WhenGodwantedtoguaranteeHispromises, HegaveHisword, arock–solidguarantee” Heb6:17(TheMessage).
Everyotherthingsaresubjecttochangeandtheyallconformtotheword. “IfyouremaininMeandMywordsremaininyou, askwhateveryouwish, anditwillbegivenyou” John15:7(NIV)
We need to meditate on the word always and should not stop to speak out about its truths. “Thatyoumayobserveanddoaccordingtoallthatiswritteninit. Forthenyoushallmakeyourwayprosperous, andthenyoushalldealwiselyandhavegoodsuccess.” Joshua1:8b(AMP)

ThereispowerandauthorityinthewordofGod “thatbreaksinpiecesitsstubbornresistance” TheBible‘sabsolutetruthisrelevanttoallgenerationsanditcanstandthetestoftime. It contains lots of wisdom and knowledge that can change lives completely and help to conquer a difficult situation. ThefireofthewordisstrongenoughtoburnoffouroldcharacterandantiChristianbelieves.
We should continue to have faith in God because He said “I‘llmakeeverywordIgiveyoucometrue.” Jeremiah1:12
Let’s all follow the lead of Abraham our father of faith who “wascertainthatGodcoulddowhatHehadpromised” Rom. 4:21(CEV). God is always watching over His word to perform it by His zeal. Basedonthatconviction, wecanalwaysplaceademandonGodforourneedsthatarefoundinHisword.
Amen.
– Ike